Since the late 1980s, a network of community museums has spread throughout Oaxaca (Mexico), serving as an autonomous force for broad-based cultural development, supporting the maintenance and revitalization of local Indigenous cultures, countering Western cultural hegemony, and involving Indigenous communities in museum development and related…

In Northern Territory (Australia), a small, remote, rural school serving Aboriginal students increased parent and community involvement, resulting in improved student achievement. Community members helped to develop culturally relevant, bilingual materials, drawing on financial support from the national Aboriginal Student Support and Parental…

Describes methodologies used successfully to engage the Roma community in Central and Eastern European schools. Notes that the goals of the project were to identify Roma children who were misplaced in special education schools, improve their academic skills, and integrate them back into the mainstream. Notes one of the methodologies used to engage…

The goal of Chattanooga's Family Resource Center is to support and strengthen families in ways that enhance their growth and well-being. Through collaboration with other service agencies, the center establishes services and programs geared toward adult literacy, parenting education, cultural awareness, community involvement, and information and…

The executive director of Public Agenda describes the seven-stage journey toward public consensus, underlines the importance of genuine public involvement, and provides some common-sense principles to guide those seeking to foster public engagement. Reform-minded educators should listen carefully, create an ongoing process, seek diverse…

Reviews "Education and Democratic Theory: Finding a Place for Community Participation in Public School Reform" (A. Belden Fields and Walter Feinberg) and "The Color of School Reform: Race, Politics, and the Challenge of Urban Education" (J. Henig, R. Hula, M. Orr, and D. Pedescleaux). Both books examine the political aspects of…

Describes current changes in rural transportation services. Describes general thrust of innovative efforts to provide rural passenger transportation despite declining resources. Describes public-private transportation cooperation, human-service agency coordination, linking state and local bus services, mixed passenger-package functions, community…

Describes dancer Katherine Dunham's philosophical system and her application of the "Dunham technique" in the Children's Workshop of the Katherine Dunham Museum in East St. Louis (Illinois). Contends that Dunham incorporates rites of passage to transform the lives of participants through intense involvement in art as a way of life. (AF)

This essay considers the worsening plight of the American family from the perspective of major social-structural dynamics, such as decline of community, corporate-induced consumerism, invasion of professionals into family life, etc. Proposed is an invigorated vision of community life and the supportive political-economic conditions that can…

Reports a New York State Education Department mandated government participation course. Course requirements were to examine public policy issues and to incorporate a participatory element. Describes four programs that were implemented by school districts: Effective Participation in Government Program; The Community Service Corps; National Issues…

Parents (N=202) of students with severe/profound disabilities were surveyed concerning their children's educational programing in four curricular domains: domestic, community, vocational, and leisure. Parent satisfaction with programing was high. They rated the domestic domain as most important, the vocational next, the community third, and…

The trend toward the use of volunteers to assist teachers in the education of individuals with disabilities is examined, and the significant role of each volunteer group (older and retired adults, mentally retarded adults, and high school and college students) is identified. Strategies for successful volunteer programs are discussed. (MSE)

Reports on a study of the impact of service learning on the moral development of 70 undergraduate students. Finds that those with service learning experience showed a significantly higher rate of growth on a moral development measure than those who did not participate. Makes recommendations for further research. (CFR)

Explores innovative ideas for parent and community involvement in schools, placing the responsibility for school-community connections more on the school than on the parents, and acknowledging the knowledge and skills of low-income parents. These ideas are illustrated in the Educational and Community Change Project in Tucson (Arizona). (SLD)

Profiles efforts in the five urban schools in the Boston (Massachusetts) Whole Village Project. Each school identified its own most urgent need, and then mobilized school, parent, and community resources to address the problem through cooperation. Programs include emphases on family planning, home reading, cultural awareness, and overall parent…